One of the largest book publishers in the U.S. has pulled an upcoming horror novel on Thursday after widespread accusations that the author used artificial intelligence to write it.
Hachette Book Group was approached by apparent evidence, collated by The New York Times, that the novel “Shy Girl” by Mia Ballard appeared to be AI-generated. A day later, the company said it was removing the book from publication and from Amazon as well as Hachette’s websites.
The publisher said that Orbit Books, one of its publishing divisions, decided not to publish “Shy Girl” after reviewing the text, adding that the book will be discontinued in the UK, where it was published last fall and has sold around 1,800 print copies, according to NielsenIQ BookData.
Since it was published, accusations have circulated widely online, including on Reddit, that the book was written using AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
“Hachette remains committed to protecting original creative expression and storytelling,” a Hachette spokeswoman said. The Independent has contacted the publisher for further comment.
The Independent has also sought to contact Ballard, who is described on Google Books as a poet and fiction writer who lives with her partner and dog in Northern California, but she appears to have taken down her social media accounts, and her publisher has not yet responded.
In an email to The Wall Street Journal, Ballard said the issue “has changed my life in many ways and my mental health is at an all time low.” Ballard said she “did not personally use AI.”
“All I’m going to say is please do your research on editors before trusting them with your work,” she added. Ballard’s Instagram has been taken offline.
According to Ballard’s GoodReads profile, the author lives in Northern California with her partner and their dog. “She loves all things horror and is passionate about writing stories focused on feminine rage,” the bio adds. A separate profile describes her as “writing stories about unhinged women, and women's issues.”
“Shy Girl” follows a young woman who is held hostage by a man she met online and forced to live as his pet. The main character, Gia, encounters a mysterious and rich man, Nathan. In exchange for living as his devoted pet, he promises to erase all her debts - and as she spends more time in captivity, she becomes more animalistic in nature.
One review in Fanfiaddict described Shy Girl as a “book about degradation, and transgression, it’s about circumstance and consequence, it’s about captivity, and then freedom”, adding that it is an “unfiltered and full-throttle expression of female rage.”
In a 2025 interview, Ballard discussed what influenced “Shy Girl,” mentioning horror movies such as “Carrie” and “Possession.”
“I wanted 'Shy Girl' to live in that space — where the horror isn’t just what happens to you, but what you become because of it,” she added.
In the same interview, Ballard explained that she lives with OCD, calling it “intrusive” and “exhausting.”
Ballard was also asked about the future of the horror genre.
“Horror has always been political — it just hasn’t always been recognized that way. We’re seeing a shift now where horror is finally being seen for what it is: a mirror to the world’s ugliest truths. What I love about modern horror is that it’s no longer afraid to be specific.
“It’s about race, gender, mental illness, class — it’s about what scares us now, not just what scared people 50 years ago. I think horror is becoming more intimate, more psychological, more intersectional. And, I think we need it more than ever. Horror tells the truth,” she said.
The book was first self-published in February 2025, before it was bought by Orbit Books. At the time, it received strong reviews, with around 4,900 ratings on Goodreads and a 3.52-star average.
One Reddit user, who says they are a book editor who has spent years reading AI-generated fiction, pointed out several issues in the novel.
User herendethelesson said the entire book “tends to read at the same level of emotion” and lacks the emotional peaks and troughs that are recognisable in real writing. They also noted that throughout the book, almost every noun has an adjective and almost every action has a simile. The user also pointed out the book’s repetitiveness in style, such as lists of three.
The novel’s cancellation raises fears that the use of AI in novel writing is becoming more common - and increasingly difficult to detect. The use of AI in writing and other arts is often regarded by those in the industry as cheating or theft, and is fiercely criticised by other writers and artists.
“This is the proof positive of what many of us have considered an issue, that this will happen, and now it has happened,” publishing industry consultant Thad McIlroy told The Times following the scandal.
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